Social Mvmts: The Sit-in Movement

On February 1, 1960, the sit-in movement was born when four black college students walked up to a whites-only lunch counter at the local Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina, and asked for coffee. As expected, the students were refused service, but they remained seated and succeeded in denying the space to paying white customers. The sit-ins and other similar tactics proved successful and were instrumental in turning the tide against the practice of racial segregation in the U.S.
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The Sociological Cinema
a woman sitting behind bars in a jail cell
Jean Wynona Fleming, a Fisk University student, sits behind bars in a Nashville jail after her arrest at a drugstore lunch counter on March 25, 1960. Sit-ins at nine restaurants protested segregated eating facilities. Photo credit: Jimmy Ellis, Gannett
black and white photograph of men holding signs in front of woolworth co, new york
Demonstrators, including many ministers, picket the F.W. Woolworth store in New York, April 14, 1960, in protest of the store's lunch-counter segregation at southern branches of its chain.
a group of people sitting around each other in front of a man talking on a cell phone
Dion Diamond, center, stands up to opposition at a sit-in demonstration in a drug store. Fellow protester Joan Trumpauer is to his left, June 9, 1960.
black and white photograph of people in a store looking at items on the counter while one man is reading a book
Dion Diamond listens with his eyes closed to George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party, at a "whites-only" lunch counter, June 1960. Photo credit: DC Public Library, Star Collection / Washington Post — in Arlington, Virginia.
a group of people sitting at a table with signs
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland participating in a sit-in, 1960 — in Arlington, Virginia Photo credit: Does anyone know who took this image?
three men sitting at a table working on computers
The sit-in method saw renewed use in the civil-rights movement. A pivotal moment came in 1960, when African-American college students staged a sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This image features Ronald Martin, Robert Patterson, and Mark Martin. Photo credit: Library of Congress — in Greensboro, North Carolina.
a bar chart showing the number of people in different countries who have been nominated for their rights
Whenever we hear white people speak passionately about how Black Lives Matter's methods of protest, such as blocking traffic, are the real problem, we think about polls like this. ----------------- Do you think "sit-ins" at lunch counters, "freedom buses" and other demonstrations by Negroes will hurt or help the Negro's chances of being integrated in the South? Source: Washington Post, 1961
black and white photograph of people sitting at the counter in a fast food restaurant,
First Tallahassee civil rights sit-in, February 13, 1960. Patricia Stephens Due is the woman wearing sunglasses. Photo credit: Florida State Archives — in Tallahassee, Florida.
an old black and white photo of people holding signs in front of storefronts that say wear old clothes christmas don't buy here
"Wear old clothes Christmas. Don't buy here" Due to lack of progress in desegregating the lunch counters at Neisner’s, McCrory’s, F.W. Woolworth’s, Walgreen’s and Sear’s stores, Reverend C.K. Steele is seen here picketing downtown stores in Tallahassee, December 6/7, 1960. Rev Steele was one of the main organizers of the Tallahassee bus boycott that began in May 1956. He also helped MLK organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. Photo credit: Patricia Stephens
a sign that is on the side of a pole in front of a building at night
Launched the national drive for integrated lunch counters, Feb. 1, 1960. In Woolworth store 2 blocks south. Photo credit: Greensboro NC, on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/noorthcarolina/6644308891/in/photostream/)
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Related Interests

Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights
African American History
American History
History
Freedom Riders
a group of figurines sitting at a counter
Google Doodle on February 1, 2020 depicted the "Greensboro Four," who protested racial segregation through a sit-in movement at the Woolworth's lunch counter during the civil rights movement.
two women sitting at a table with drinks in front of them and one woman holding a cup
"Time of Change," 1962 Photo credit: Bruce Davidson
an old photo of people shopping in a store
The American Nazi Party carry out a counter-demonstration while civil rights protesters stage a sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair, June 9, 1960. Sit-in protesters, left to right, are Laurence Henry, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland and Dion Diamond. Photo credit: Wally McNamee — in Arlington, Virginia.